


Sin & Salvation

by BlueMoonFantasies



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Churches & Cathedrals, Cults, Demons, Gen, M/M, demonic rituals, religion au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 11:01:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20795576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMoonFantasies/pseuds/BlueMoonFantasies
Summary: A series of snippets of my Servamp Religion AU.





	Sin & Salvation

Young Lilac’s heart pounded as he ran through the moonlit streets. He had no idea what road he was on or if he was even still in the same town. It didn’t matter. He just needed to get away. Away from his crumbling home, away from his awful family. He rounded a corner and soon found himself in a thick forest. His eyes, still watery, were practically useless. With no sunlight to guide him, everything became a messy blur of green and black. Adrenaline finally depleted, he fell to his knees and began to weep anew, face buried in his hands.

The boy jumped when he felt a hand gently caressing his stringy, filthy hair. He brought his own hands away from his face to see the folds of a black skirt and a white apron covered with intricate designs; a star-lit sky, a tangle of spider webs, and flames that seemed to dance despite being a mere embroidery. Lilac timidly lifted his head. Before him, offering him a comforting smile, was a nun. She looked young, around mid-teens, not much older than Lilac himself. Tufts of green hair peeked out from under her habit. Her eyes were red, so bright they appeared to glow under the silvery light of the moon. A red camellia was twined around her wrist.

“Are you lost, little one?” she asked. There was something strange about her voice, though. It was too deep for a girl.

“Your voice…” Lilac said, his voice weak and hoarse. “You’re a boy?”

The nun chuckled. “Yes, I am,” she- _he_ said. “There’s a wonderful place deeper in these woods. A place where a person can be whoever they want to be. Out there,” he gestured with his head in the direction Lilac had come from, “I was mocked and cast out because of the way I dress. But, just like you, I escaped to these woods where He found me.”

“He?” Lilac parroted.

“Tsubaki,” the nun answered excitedly. “He saved me! He lets me dress however I want! And He asks for nothing in return!”

Lilac unconsciously rubbed at his wrist. “That sounds nice,” he said. “You do look very pretty in that dress.”

The nun gasped. “Thank you! Such a sweet child you are~!” The nun noticed the bandages on the boy’s wrist, his cheerful smile falling to a look of sadness and, curiously, understanding. “A sweet, damaged child…” He gently held Lilac’s hand to inspect the bandages. They were too old, putting the boy at a high risk of infection, if he wasn’t already infected. They needed to be changed as soon as possible. “Would you like to see my home?” He asked. “You’ll like it there. There are many people there who are just like you. Myself included.” The nun smiled at the boy again. “If you really like it, you’re welcome to stay.”

“Forever?” Lilac asked, hope clear in his voice.

“If that is what you wish,” replied the nun.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lilac nodded. “Okay.”

“Excellent!” said the nun as he took the boy’s hand and led him deeper into the lush woods until they came upon what appeared to be an old church. Lilac supposed that made sense, considering the way the other boy was dressed. Only when they were at the massive wooden doors did Lilac realize he didn’t know the nun’s name.

“Um,” he stammered. “Wh-what’s your name, by the way?”

“I’m Sister Sakuya,” said the nun.

“I’m Lilac,” said the boy.

“Lilac!” Sakuya’s smile widened. “Oh, you’ll definitely fit right in! We have many ‘flowers’ here! Myself the cherry blossom, Belkia the bergenia, Otogiri the hypericum, Higan the red spider lily, and of course, our Savior Himself: Tsubaki the camellia! They’ll all be overjoyed to have another flower in the garden!” Sakuya pushed open one of the giant doors with much more ease than Lilac expected considering his thin, effeminate build.

The interior was decorated with rich reds, glimmering golds, and inky black. Tapestries of foxes and a variety of different flowers and trees lined the walls. Some of them had a distinctly Japanese style to them. Others looked Italian, and there were a few Lilac couldn’t quite place. Lanterns hanging from the high ceiling lit the building well. There were two rows a dark, wooden pews on either side of a bright red carpet leading up to the altar. The altar itself was adorned with all of the flowers Sakuya had mentioned, the camellias, predictably, in the center of it all. Behind the altar stood an ivory statue of a man dressed in what appeared to be traditional Japanese attire. Draped around the statute’s shoulders was a stole that was red at the neck, but gradually turned to black with red camellia flowers sewn into the fabric. Behind the statue was what looked to be an inactive waterfall.

Sakuya’s voice pulled Lilac out of his awe.

“Well? What do you think? Would you like to stay here?”  
Lilac thought for a moment. There was no way he could go back home. He had only just met Sakuya, but he seemed so nice. And really, where else did he have to go?

“This place seems very nice,” he began, “b-but…I’m not very religious.”

Sakuya giggled again and placed a gentle hand on Lilac’s head. “That’s okay,” he said. “Tsubaki won’t ask that you worship Him. Only that you stay by His side.”

Lilac could do that. If Tsubaki was really as kind as Sakuya said, he would gladly stay by his side. Lilac nodded. Sakuya scurried down the carpeted aisle and up the short flight of stair led to the altar. There was apparently a lever hidden behind it, as Sakuya pulled it. Water cascaded down the waterfall behind the statue as another feature spilled water onto the statue itself like rain. As Lilac watched the display in wonder, Sakuya moved back in front of the altar.

“Gather, everyone!” he called out, his voice echoing through the chapel over the sound of rushing water. “We have a new flower for the garden!”

From doors Lilac hadn’t seen before, more people poured into the chapel and took seats in the pews. Sakuya stood at one end of the altar. Once everyone was seated, a final figure stepped out from behind the waterfall. The man looked exactly like the statue, but in color. He had pitch black hair, the same red eyes as everyone else there, and his clothes were dyed with beautiful gradients of red, black, and white. This must be Tsubaki, Lilac thought.

The black-haired man approached Lilac, smiling gently, if a bit sadly, at the boy.

“So young,” he said. His voice was soft and smooth. “What’s your name, little one?”

“Lilac,” said the boy. It was strange. Normally, he was extremely nervous meeting new people, but something about Tsubaki made him feel calm.

“Nice to meet you. I am Tsubaki. Tell me, why have you left your home, little Lilac?” asked Tsubaki.

“I didn’t believe in what my family believes in. So they hurt me. And then I started hurting myself.” He rubbed at his bandaged wrist again until Tsubaki took hold of it, gentle just like Sakuya had been.

“Oh my,” said the black-haired man. “These are filthy. They’ll need to be changed before we continue.”

“I’ve already got some fresh ones,” said Sakuya, handing the roll to Tsubaki.

“Thank you, Sister Sakuya.” Tsubaki made quick work of the old bandages. He carefully inspected the wounds both old and new. They weren’t pretty, but fortunately none were infected. To Lilac’s surprise, he wasn’t at all embarrassed by someone who was essentially a stranger seeing his scars. Once the new bandages were securely wrapped around Lilac’s arm, Tsubaki stood and turned to Sakuya. “The chalice, if you please.”

“Of course, Tsubaki.” Sakuya reached back behind the altar and pulled out a golden chalice, intricately decorated with a whole rainbow of jewels.

“Now, dear Lilac,” said Tsubaki, “you are more than welcome to stay here. I just need you to do one thing for me.”

“What?” Lilac asked. He flinched, eyes wide, when Tsubaki pulled a black ritual knife out of one if his massive silk sleeves. The man chuckled when he saw Lilac’s expression.

“Don’t worry,” he assured. “This is for me, not you.” Sakuya held the chalice under Tsubaki’s wrist as he sliced it open with the knife. His blood poured into the cup for a moment until as he sheathed the blade. With his hand free, he placed it over the wound. The bleeding stopped. When he pulled his hand away, there was no trace of his injury. He carefully took the chalice from Sakuya and offered it to the boy.

“I know this sounds strange,” said Tsubaki, “but my blood has healing properties. Please, drink. Heal yourself. And then you can stay here forever.”

Sakuya could see Lilac’s hesitation. “It’s true!” said the nun. “I used to have the same scars as you, and now look.” He rolled up one of his sleeves to reveal unblemished, porcelain skin. “It’s okay. I promise.”

“O-okay,” said Lilac. He took the chalice, placed the cool metal to his lips, and tipped his head back until the metallic taste of blood hit his tongue. Once he finished, he felt a surge of energy. The lanterns flickered, dimmed, and everything was bathed in a red light. His jaw was wide open, and he was sure he was screaming, but he could hear nothing before everything went black.


End file.
